PvdA Locked in Conflict with Local Leader

THE HAGUE, 18/03/14 - Osman Suna, who had resigned as the Labour (PvdA) leader in Soest due to vote-rigging, has decided not to give up his post after all. He is now considering a court case against party leader Diederik Samsom, who he describes as a "despot." TV programme Pownews last week showed how Suna tried to persuade mosque visitors who were not going to vote to give up their ballot papers so that others could bring out a vote for them. He then resigned, apparently under pressure from the PvdA leadership. But the Turk has since changed his mind. He will still appear at the top of the PvdA election list in Soest, he said at a press conference. He criticised Samsom, who earlier reported in the media that there is no future any more for Suna in the PvdA. "Samsom has already found me guilty even though investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s office has not even begun. He does not have the right to judge me in front of millions of viewers. He is like a despot.” Suna is considering taking legal action against Samsom on account of the damage that he says he and his family have suffered due to his statements. Additionally, Suna may drive a wedge between Samsom and PvdA chairman Hans Spekman. Suna says that Spekman told him that Samsom went too far, and assured him that he could carry on as normal as a PvdA politician. Confronted with this view, Samsom said on TV programme Pownews that Spekman “will once again make it clear (to Suna) how the matter stands.”